Oppose PA SB1 and taking state funds from public schools

The state Senate just voted to amend Senate Bill 1 and plans to vote on the proposal soon, unless we stop them.

Sen. Martin’s bill could be the largest transfer of taxpayer dollars out of public schools in Pennsylvania’s history, using those funds for private school programs and tax breaks for businesses.

Even in its amended version, this is just about the worst attack on public education we've ever seen.

If you haven’t contacted your state senator to tell him or her to oppose Senate Bill 1, please do it RIGHT NOW.

If you have already emailed your state senator, email them again and let them know that Senate Bill 1 is STILL a bad bill that will cost our schools hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Senate Bill 1 would take hundreds of millions of dollars EVERY YEAR from traditional public schools, where more than 90 percent of Pennsylvania’s students learn.
  • Senate Bill 1 would increase tax breaks for businesses that give money to private and religious schools to $300 million this year and increase that amount by 25 percent in the following years. This means these tax breaks will cost nearly $1 billion in five years.
  • Senate Bill 1 was amended to REMOVE language that would have taken the authority to approve charter schools away from local, elected school boards and gives it to a state-level panel of politicians.
  • This amendment also REDUCES the amounts school districts are required to pay cyber charter schools by essentially giving school districts a “coupon” on their tuition payments. While this is an improvement, the reduction in cyber charter school payments isn’t large enough to make a significant impact on what school districts pay to cyber charter schools.
  • The coupon’s impact is de minimis and in a few years, charter tuition will be where it is now.
  • Senate Bill 1 could be the largest transfer of taxpayer dollars from public schools in Pennsylvania’s history.

Contact your state senator RIGHT NOW

Contact your state senator RIGHT NOW, tell him or her that you oppose Senate Bill 1, and help stop lawmakers from taking hundreds of millions of dollars from our public schools EVERY YEAR.

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